Genius of Britain doesn't stretch to TV scheduling

Hawking's just one of the science and engineering luminaries who'll feature in
Genius of Britain: The scientists that changed the world, a five-night series that'll hit British TV screens tonight. The line-up of presenters - most of whom joined Hawking in person at the series' launch last week - includes David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, Paul Nurse, James Dyson, Kathy Sykes, Robert Winston, Olivia Judson and Jim Al-Khalili.

Airing on commercial TV station Channel Four, the series aims to illustrate how much everyday technology stems from the British tradition of invention - a tradition that is in danger of dying out. One aim of the show is to help quell the hordes of kids applying for "soft" options like media studies or finance.

"The number of students studying physics is falling, while the number taking media studies is rising. So the idea is not just to celebrate the past but to inspire the next generation of scientists," Hawking said of the show. Each of the celebrity presenters has chosen British heroes to celebrate. Some of the choices were unexpected: biologist Dawkins lauds computing pioneer Alan Turing, for example.

TV can be a powerful way to form opinion, suggested some of the presenters. "I read a survey that said 30 per cent of teenage girls want to be models, 2 per cent want to be engineers and 13 per cent want to be scientists. I thought this was really encouraging until I discovered they all wanted to be pathologists - because of the CSI programmes," says Dyson.

So does Genius of Britain stand any chance of winning the hearts and minds of British youth? I asked a teenager of my acquaintance about it.

"I'm not watching that," I was told.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's starts the same time as Desperate Housewives on E4. And the next night it's Glee at that time! D'oh!"

Who could be responsible for such poor planning? Who runs E4? Step forward, Channel Four.

Genius of Britain starts at 9pm on Sunday 30 May 2010 and will screen at the same time for the next four nights

I'd point out that asking one teenager who you are 'acquainted' with does not make for a very large data set Mr Marks.

The simple fact is that this program, extolling the virtues of the sciences, was scheduled at 9pm at all is cause for a small celebration in-itself.

Will it convert the huddled spotty masses of teenagers who would rather be watching Desperate bloody Housewives? Probably not, but does that mean we may have lost the brilliant mind behind the explanation off the missing mass problem? Again, probably not.

Charles
on June 1, 2010 3:06 PM

Yes but surely a programme such as Genius of Britain can and will be shown in schools to encourage and enthuse young people about science?

Ld Elon
on June 1, 2010 3:19 PM

Hahahaha, dumb people too sit down and watch @genius of britian@ wohahahahha